Last week, as I was going back to my room at night, a weird but nice looking leaf caught my eye. I initially ignored it, but kept wondering why a leaf was hanging on the fence, away from other the other leaves.

Moving closer to examine it, it was an insect! As shocking as it may seem, this was the first time I had seen a leaf insect in real life. The insect stayed still as I began taking pictures. It remained still when I began using my flash to take better pictures, and even when I walked up to it, and had my camera less than one inch away from its body. It occurred to me that remaining still in the face of predators most likely helped the insect  avoid predation. Sadly, on very close observation, it was betrayed by it’s antenna.

Armed with pictures, I began looking up images of leaf insects in Texas. That was when I found it; Katydid.

Again, this was a name I had heard people say but had never known what it looked like.So what are Katydids exactly? Katydids are insects in the family Tettigonidae, in the order Orthoptera. Yes, although they look like leaf insects (Order Phasmatodea), they are actually crickets, hence the common name ‘Bush crickets’. Their large hind legs are similar to those of grasshoppers and crickets. Like other crickets, they produce a distinct chirping sound by stridulation (rubbing body parts together). There are various types of Katydids, and the one I encountered is scientifically known as Microcentrum rhombifolium. This insect is hemimetabolous hence the juveniles look like adults. One way to differentiate an adult from a nymph is the lack of black spots, and wings. This insect is common around Rice University and Texas, so next time you see a weird looking leaf, or hear that distinct chirping noise at night, you might just learn something new like I did.

References

http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Katydid

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Tettigoniidae/

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/031a.htm